Giraffe Tongue Orchestra is a collective of some really great musicians from some really awesome bands. Brent Hinds from Mastodon, Ben Weinman from The Dillinger Escape Plan, William DuVall from Alice In Chains and Thomas Pridgen formerly of the Mars Volta. What you get when all these talented people play together is something that is a bit funky, a bit rock, and genuinely artistic.
Blood Moon:
Crucifixion:
This is just bad. Plain and simple. One of the worst GNR covers I’ve heard.
Bleeding Through- Rocket Queen:
Guns N Roses- Rocket Queen:
When I first heard Night Verses, I thought that this is one of the bands that is much needed in today’s stale music climate. Their debut album Lift Your Existence was an album full of epic proportions that really left a mark on me. The album is still in constant rotation in my stereo. So when I heard that Night Verses were in the studio working on their follow up album with Ross Robinson, I became even more excited about this band. The end result of their collaboration together is an album that is full of passion, inspiration, diverse music that pushes genre boundaries and vocals that are raw and powerful.
Into The Vanishing Light is an album that will take you on a journey just as a full album should. The more you listen to it all, you pick up on different things and feelings. After my first listen the flow of the album seemed to be a little disjointed, but after a couple more listens, it all began to make sense. The first track “The Future As History: I Love You Dead,” is a mood setter alright, that is set against a bit of a schizophrenic vocal delivery, but done with so much passion. The next couple songs emit pulsating music all the while a moody etherial vibe. By the time “Dialogue In Cataplexy” hits you know you are in for a ride with the way it plays out as a song with complexity and seriousness. As the rest of the album moves along the path of the journey certain songs like “Panic and Pull Your Heart Out” and “Blue Shades Of The Sun” truly leave a lasting mark. The closing song “Phoenix III” is a great encapsulation of the album and what the band has evolved into.
Night Verses have created an album that emits true artistry and vision. Singer Douglas Robinson really goes all out to ensure the words and messages come across as real and true as possible. Musically drummer Aric Improta is an absolute inspiration behind the drums. His use of time signatures and percussion adds so much more to the music. Guitarist Nick DePirro’s riffs, structures and skill is brilliant. It’s all tied together by bassist Reilly Herrera’s thunderous yet gentle playing. Working with Ross Robinson really helped to push the band to realize their potential as a band. Into The Vanishing Light is an album that separates Night Verses from their peers in the genre. I’d even go as far as to say this album could be a blueprint for the genre just as the Refused’s The Shape of Punk To Come became. Night Verses are here and deserve your undivided attention.
Night Verses- Into The Vanishing Light:
Two years ago I wrote a piece about how Poison The Well should get back together. They were one of those bands that really expanded their sound and evolved in a good way. Fast forward till now and they are back and playing shows again. After playing some festivals and east coast shows last year, Poison The Well finally made their way over to the west coast. I for one couldn’t have been happier that they are back.
Their show at the Roxy featured special guests, hardcore legends Strife. The pure unrelenting attitude that permeated from each individual on stage shows why Strife has always been a force to reckon with live. Their career spanning set was full of songs about unity, peace, and anti violence. Strife was one of the first hardcore bands that I ever listened to way back when. I saw them many years ago, and they still pack one hell of a punch live.
Poison The Well come out on stage in dramatic fashion. Dark stage then lit by blue lights and right into “Ghostchant.” The crowd couldn’t have been more ecstatic and the smile on my face was very bright. Their set which was career spanning as well focused a lot on the albums You Come Before You, The Opposite Of December and Tear From The Red. You could tell that the band was really happy with the crowd and the reaction they were getting. Singer Jeff Moreira would smile a lot during the set. Guitarist Ryan Primack was feeling the good vibes and having fun dressed in his best “Dad shirt.” Drummer Chris Hornbrook hit this drums with such fury and passion. Other highlight songs of the night were “Zombies Are Good For Your Health,” “Purple Sabbath” then straight into “Slice Paper Wrists,” “Karsey Street,” “Apathy Is A Cold Body,” “Crystal Lake,” “Botchla,” and closing out the evening “For A Bandaged Iris,” and “Nerdy.”
Poison The Well delivered just what I was wanting. It was a great night to revisit those songs and see so many people enjoy that Poison The Well came back. It’s amazing how certain albums and songs can hold up so well over time, and have a different meaning now than they did way back when. I for one am very intrigued to see if Poison The Well will continue on and release some new music. Based on the excitement from the crowd at the show, I’m sure most of them would welcome it with open arms.
Poison The Well Set List:
1. Ghostchant
2. Parks And What You Meant To Me
3. Letter Thing
4. Zombies Are Good For Your Health
5. Karsey Street
6. Cinema
7. Purple Sabbath
8. Slice Paper Wrists
9. Apathy Is A Cold Body
10. Pamplemousse
11. Artist’s Rendering Of Me
12. Crystal Lake
13. You Will Not Be Welcomed
14. Botchla
15. To Mandate Heaven
16. For A Bandaged Iris
17. Nerdy
In this new category, I will be looking into what happened/what went wrong with certain bands which lead them down the path of mediocrity.
I totally understand the need for bands to evolve and expand upon what they originally set out to do. In most cases I’ll applaud bands for doing that, because it shows their maturity, and their passion of their craft in songwriting takes shape. If there is one thing I can’t stand about those that don’t get it, is that the material they put out just doesn’t cut it. In 2003, Los Angeles based band released their debut album. The Bronx were the band that were bringing back the punk energy that had been missing for many years. Song’s like “They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy),” “False Alarm,” “Heart Attack American,” “White Tar,” and even the closer “Strobe Life all exhibit the punk rock energy that was a shotgun blast those that had written the genre off. Their second album, while it was a bit slicker in the production side of things, the band evolved within their genre, but still kept true to their laurels of punk rock prowess. Their live shows at this time were so full of energy it was almost like being transported back to the early 80’s at shows with Black Flag, Circle Jerks with the amount of chaos and attitude going on. When the band were about to put out their third album, The Bronx had started a side project called Mariachi El Bronx. Originally the band announced that they would record two new albums, which like their first two albums would both be eponymously titled. There would be a punk album and an album of mariachi influenced songs. So when they were released, the band started noticing that more people were intrigued by their mariachi side of things, thus setting the band up for the end. Over the next few years as fans were waiting for a new Bronx album, we wound up with two more mariachi albums. The attention paid to this really took away from the greatness that the band could have been putting out. By the time their fourth eponymously titled came out, you could tell by listening to it, that the band was just done. The album lacked the heart and passion they once had. Instead it seemed forced and lacked balls. Their live shows grew boring and it just didn’t feel right anymore. Recently, the bands drummer Jorma Vik announced his departure from both groups. And if you’ve ever seen The Bronx, you know how integral he was to the band.
Now, I know I’m being pretty hard on them, but it’s true. They seem to have forgotten their roots thus, letting their fans down to an extent. I can still go back and listen to the first two albums with a smile on my face and remember how awesome they were. This is more of a call to attention that it’s time to let The Bronx be laid to rest. So with Jorma leaving the group, I bid you a farewell too. Thank you for two really great albums and some very memorable shows.
Update: I did see The Bronx a few years back as direct support for Thrice on the latter’s “Palms” tour. It still wasn’t quite right. Matt was still one hell of a frontman. The rest of the band honestly seemed bored. I remember going back and listening to their newer albums after that and it left me with the “meh” feeling. I’m glad they are still going and have the Mariachi El Bronx thing too. It’s just not doing it for me.
The Bronx- The Bronx I:
The Bronx- The Bronx II:
We continue now with the letter F. Again these are in no particular order. And I’m always looking to add to the list so feel free to leave suggestions!
1. Failure
2. Faith No More
3. Fugazi
4. Far
5. Foo Fighters
6. Flaming Lips
7. Fleetwood Mac
The Sex Pistols are one of my top 15 favorite bands ever. They were the band that got me into punk when I was 8 years old. I present to you two different covers of one of their quintessential songs “Anarchy In The U.K.” I find it fitting to do a cover comparison of this song considering what is going on in the U.K. at the moment. Who do you think did it best?
Motley Crue- Anarchy In The U.K.:
Megadeth- Anarchy In The U.K.:
Sex Pistols- Anarchy In The U.K.:
Bands that start with the letter E aren’t easy to think of. Not to mention, due the qualify to be included in a list of the best bands. Here is my list of the top bands with the letter E. As always add to the list of who you think should be included.
Echo And The Bunnymen
Eagles
Explosions In The Sky
Emperor
Entombed
Exodus
ELO
Steve Earle
As we wrap up the first half of 2016, here are the best albums I’ve heard so far this year. And do yourself a favor and go buy them!
Killswitch Engage- Incarnate:
And We Are Them- A Subtle Tyranny:
Saosin- Along The Shadows:
Moving Structures- Awake:
The Cult- Hidden City:
Thrice- To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere:
Gojira-Magma:
Red Hot Chili Peppers- The Getaway:
I’ve mentioned before that there are certain bands that were really good but didn’t get the due and push they needed. Hotwire is one of those bands for sure. On their Japanese release of their debut album The Routine, they included a cover of The Rolling Stones “Let’s Spend The Night Together.” While this isn’t the best cover, it’s a fun version that is very fitting as a good fun summer time song.
Hotwire- Let’s Spend The Night Together:
